Swanson: Kiki Iriafen’s smooth evolution from WNBA rookie to All-Star

LOS ANGELES Something about Kiki Iriafen the Washington Mystics Tarzana-born rookie forward she s not going to wait for your invitation No she ll do it herself on her own timeline make a beeline from A past B straight to the W where her WNBA dream job is exceeding her own lofty expectations The -year-old former Harvard-Westlake basketball star you might also know her from her season at USC starring alongside JuJu Watkins is an All-Star already She suited up for Saturday s WNBA All-Star Championship in Indianapolis along with fellow rookies Sonia Citron Iriafen s Mystics teammate and Paige Bueckers the Dallas Wings No overall draft pick Iriafen had a double-double with points and rebounds as the first-year trio made it just WNBA rookies to participate in a WNBA All-Star Encounter since it debuted in per Across the Timeline Washington s Kiki Iriafen speaks to the media during the WNBA All-Star practice sessions on Friday July at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Indiana Photo by Steph Chambers Getty Images It s incredible mentioned Melissa Hearlihy Iriafen s former Harvard-Westlake coach But it s not surprising No because this is Kiki Iriafen And not so long ago when she decided in eighth grade that she desired to go to Harvard-Westlake she filled out all the required forms and paperwork that give grownups headaches and presented them to her mom Yemi completed except for her signature I m a very independent person Kiki commented I like to get things done This is Kiki Iriafen who completed her degree in product design and mechanical engineering at Stanford in three years while of program playing Division I basketball Who added a master s degree in entrepreneurship and innovation from USC while also trying to chase a championship with the Trojans This is Kiki Iriafen whose fast track to professional All-Stardom following Rookie of the Month out of the gate in May has been so immediate it has surprised even her Not even on my radar at all coming in But the precocious power forward has checked in a -foot- sponge She asks a lot of questions Trojans assistant coach Willnett Crockett advised me eager to learn and improve and heck yes to compete fiercely against fellow s so a multitude of of whom are among the WNBA s best players Iriafen is averaging nearly a double-double points and rebounds on shooting for a surprisingly competitive Mystics association that is in the midst of a youth movement that s proving more launching pad than incubator with Citron and Iriafen this year s Nos and picks becoming the first pair of rookie All-Star teammates since There s wasting little time and wasting none arriving early right on time Because as women s basketball is having a time here in the s Iriafen is among the meeting s bright new All-Stars Not a headliner like Caitlin and JuJu and Paige perhaps but she s on the marquee After I heard her say last week that she discovered fashion and basketball gave her confidence as a tall girl growing up I looked over my daughter s shoulder as she flipped through August s Vogue magazine to see Iriafen staring back at us in a Coach advertisement Also in April she became the first college athlete to sign a sponsorship deal with Skechers catch her playing in their coral-colored SKX Nexus sneakers And hey now she s an All-Star Kiki has a remarkable presence disclosed Jamila Wideman the Mystics general manager who was a popular rookie playing for the Sparks in the WNBA s inaugural season in She s funny she s warm she has a charisma And if that is a part of being a star then she has that Iriafen also had the news of her transfer from Stanford to USC informed to the world via Woj bomb an Adrian Wojnarowski social media post that landed during a Lakers playoff meeting Just in Former Stanford F Kiki Iriafen the foreseen No overall pick in the WNBA Draft has committed to the USC Trojans she tells ESPN Iriafen will return to her LA home to club with Juju Watkins on a national title contender for coach Lindsay Gottlieb USC s Kiki Iriafen drives to the basket against UNC Greensboro in the first half of an NCAA Tournament first-round event March at Galen Center Photo by Keith Birmingham Orange County Register SCNG There were a lot of reasons for the move a shot at a national championship playing for Gottlieb coming home to L A no place like it And that the change turned out to be a challenge statistically Iriafen took a step back and eventual champion UConn stopped the JuJu-less Trojans in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament turned out to be a feature Related Articles What s next for the Warriors as Kuminga standoff stretches past weeks WNBA All-Stars pressure league on CBA negotiations with warmup shirts Napheesa Collier s record-breaking performance leads her club to WNBA All-Star Encounter win What we learned about Warriors from NBA Summer League Bay Area s Sabrina Ionescu wins -point contest at WNBA All-Star Friday night Not that collegians these days need additional incentives to transfer but how about this from Wideman the rookie GM who was also once a Stanford star You got to see her in a couple different situations in college Her transfer for her last year and her ability to make that transition pretty fleetly to adapt under a gigantic spotlight I think notified you something about her person and her ability to adapt to me it spoke something to her bravery They ought to offer degrees in adaptability because Iriafen would be working toward one of those too or teaching the syllabus She s just done a tremendous job of adapting and adjusting to the pros the size and physicality disclosed Lynne Roberts who had to contest plan for Iriafen in college as Utah s head coach and now in her first year coaching the Sparks Playing against her in college she was unfailingly big and strong and athletic and explosive and I think she s just kind of taking that to another level What that means Iriafen explained is applying her basketball instruction just putting my head down just being adaptable and using the things that I ve learned at USC to just impact any way I can on the Mystics That s also how she played at Harvard-Westlake where she arrived having only started hooping in middle school But she came with undeniable physical gifts and importantly a dream and a drive She never let anything get in her way declared Hearlihy who retired from coaching in after years and victories The largest part driven kid I ve ever coached Harvard-Westlake s Kiki Iriafen dives for a loose ball against Troy in the first half of their CIF-SS Basketball Division championship competition Feb at Azusa Pacific Photo by Keith Birmingham Pasadena Star-News SCNG A quick trip down memory lane in the L A Daily News archives documents how Iriafen steadily added to her bag starting as a head-turning - freshman who led the crew in scoring to super-sophomore gaining acclaim as the sixth-ranked prospect in the country As a junior she was described as a dominating unstoppable budding superstar with soft hands and impressive body control A mentally tough elite finisher who loved opening up the contest for teammates on the way to a CIF Southern Section Division I crown And by the time she was a Stanford-bound senior averaging points and rebounds she d added a deadly shooting touch acquired a solid package of moves earned recognition as a McDonald s All-American and twice as the Daily News Participant of the Year And last week she was back back again in L A this time having met and exceeded her initial professional goals She was playing for the first time against the Sparks and in Crypto com Arena where she disclosed she d been so various times as a fan A large contingent from the Trojans women s basketball venture was on hand Tuesday and DJ Mal-Ski who also worked Iriafen s USC games played those familiar insufficient notes of Drake s hit In My Feelings Kiki do you love me a couple of times during the contest as something of hello again Washington s Kiki Iriafen drives against the Sparks Dearica Hamby in the first half Tuesday July at Crypto com Arena Photo by Ronald Martinez Getty Images The Sparks beat Washington - handing the Mystics just their third loss in nine games and holding Iriafen to eight points and eight rebounds A expansion opportunity she would presumably tell you Afterward at home on the road Iriafen embraced Sparks center Cameron Brink her former Stanford teammate and slapped high-fives with fans signed autographs and stopped for a minimal photos and selfies before disappearing into the tunnel for the last time before her All-Star Championship debut